The present invention relates to wild game hoists and, in particular, to a wild game hoist which aids in the skinning and dressing process.
While the apparatus and method of the present invention has applicability to the skinning and dressing of various animal carcasses, it is particularly directed to the problems involved in skinning deer carcasses in the field. Typically in order to skin a deer carcass, the deer carcass must be hoisted off the ground. Since a deer carcass can be quite heavy, it is the normal practice to employ some form of mechanical hoisting means to raise the carcass from the ground. Various types of supports and hoists are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,063 issued to York on Feb. 21, 1989 for "Portable Wild Game Hoist" discloses a portable wild game hoist having a multiple section boom which can be assembled and dismantled. The boom is supported by a standard trailer hitch on the rear of a vehicle.
A variant form of wild game support which suspends the animal carcass from a vertical support such as a post or tree is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,110 issued to Owens on Sep. 17, 1991.
Once the deer carcass has been suspended, skinning is normally performed manually by making certain incisions with a knife and gradually cutting and pulling the skin away from the carcass. This can be a tedious and time consuming process requiring a great deal of strength and manual dexterity. Various solutions have been proposed to simplify and reduce the physical labor involved in the skinning process. U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,411 issued to Ivy on Mar. 26, 1985 for "Game Skinning Apparatus" discloses a game skinning rack comprising a rectangular board with cam means mounted in notches for gripping the extremities of the animal being skinned. The Ivy device is specifically adapted to the skinning of a small game animal such as a squirrel.
By contrast, U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,084 issued to Carrington, et al. on Mar. 18, 1975 for "Deer Skinning Apparatus and Method of Using Same" is directed to the problem of skinning a large game animal such as a deer. Carrington discloses the use of a rope having a loop which is fastened around a flap of skin cut from the neck of the animal. The flap of skin is wrapped around an anchor block so that the loop of rope cannot slip off of the flap of skin. The opposite end of the rope is then attached to a vehicle and a force is applied to the rope in order to pull the skin from the animal.
Various types of mechanical apparatus for stripping the skin from an animal carcass are known from the commercial meat processing industry. Examples of these devices, which are not considered to be analogous to the problem faced by a hunter skinning an animal in the field, include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,021,884 and 3,209,395. The latter patent is chiefly interesting in that it discloses an apparatus for mechanically pulling the hide downward from a suspended hog carcass.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,601 issued to Cope on May 18, 1993 for "Mechanical Deer Skinning Device" discloses a device for removing the skin from white tailed deer or other game animals. The device is self supporting and operates by holding the skin of the animal stationary while the carcass is lifted and pulled from the skin.
It is an object of the present invention to provide for a lightweight portable hoist for hoisting wild game carcasses while also providing means to assist in the skinning process. It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a portable game hoist and skinning aid which may be mounted to a tree, post or other substantial vertical object.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide for a portable game hoist having a winch apparatus for hoisting the animal carcass into position which may also be employed to provide mechanical advantage to assist in the skinning process.